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vINland: The White Falcon of Ragnorok

Introduction

In the late 13th and 14th century people from Norwegian origin were still living in Vestribyggd (The northwestcoast of Greenland).
According to Grænlandslýsing, a report on the state of the settlements, Ívar Bårdarson (1349-1368)was sent on a mission by the bisshop of Bergen, Norway, to Grænland. From Eystribyggd he was sent to Vestribyggd, only to find horses, goats, sheep, cows, oxen and game. Everything was there ... except people.
Ever since the establishment of the colony around 1000 a.d., average temperatures had dropped slowly, reaching a low around the beginning of the 14th century.
An eskimo attack would not have spared the animals, which makes it somewhat questionable. Some historians believe they shipped their things into fishing boats and sailed off, off to persue a better life. As wood was scarse in Vestribyggd, the people often went west to replenish their supplies.

I made a Vinland add-on for the excellent Terra Nova Mod by Darken (started with version 8.48), including a few missions. Probably not very plausable, but hey, who cares :-)
as the people from Grænland had knowledge of sea routes to Newfoundland and the surrounding area, it's possible that there were a few colonies there that survived.

I didn't make up the introduction, I have sources.

I'm starting with three 'cities' of a mere 1000 inhabitants, and a few small colonies.

The national flag is black with a white falcon on it, since in Arabic writing a white falcon from Grænland was once mentioned as an excellent trade commodity.

Erik The Red and his son Leif Eriksson established Norse colonies. They remained Norse for as long as they existed. Because the Vinlanders have lost all contact with their king, they elect a nobleman to act as a regent, who is given the title of 'Prince of Vinland'

As Grænland was catholic, the assumed Vinlanders are also considered catholic.

Just to let you know, it's my first AAR, I'll give it my best shot.

Last edited by Urcules; 01-10-2008 at 00:29.
Reason: typo's and small update

Vinland was situated on a few islands, west of Vestribyggd. The harbour of our capital, Vinborg was and still is ideally situated for fishing boats and small sailing vessels. There were a few colonies on the mainland up north , and on the islands in the south. The immigrants from Vestribyggd were welcome, and they made themselves a living in the northern colonies.
Our esteemed Prince Leif VI seemed to think that the area surrounding the bay of Vinland and the Vinborg strait offered lots of opportunities ...

The bay was explored mostly by trader captains.
They recognised that the land had potential for farming, forresting, and some areas could be used to breed the Greenland horses, that were a bit smaller and sturdier than their European counterparts from which they originated. Not many horses had been imported from Greenland during the 14th century, horsefarms were a symbol of wealth and mostly owned by noblemen.

The whole buzz created a positive influence on other aspects of life aswell:

As the coast was being explored, the need to make the land route between our holdings substantial was obvious to most men.
The southerns colonies of Leifsborg and Erikshafen already had outposts on the southern mainland.

In the meantime, Elias Bolt, son of a nobleman wíth the obligatory obscure familytree, was in charge of a ship that was exploring the coastline of the mainland south of Erikshafen, got caught in a storm and was pushed south into the ocean. Stranding on a deserted island, Bolt had to wait for favourable winds and currents that would bring him home and to make repairs. Preparing dried fish for a possible long voyage was also necessary. Repairs and resupplying took two months. In September, 1410, he set of with replenished supplies, enough for three weeks.

The winds that drove Elias Bolt to the south, and then to the west.

He landed within 7 days near a native settlement, which the natives called 'Muskogee'. After exchanging gifts, Elias sailed back north, slowy but surely, whilst making charts of the coastline.

Bolt's route

Back home, Leif VI was leading a small band of troops during the summer months, trying to clear the proposed landroute from aggressive natives. Although succesfull, he fell off his horse during a celebration hunt and didn't survive the injuries. The nobles from Vinborg and the other cities elected Bernt Sigurdsson, an experienced statesman as new Prince.

One year after Leif's untimely end, The new Prince, old man Sigurdsson was playing a game of chess with his grandfathers set, made from the finest walrusivory.
His game was interrupted when presumed lost explorer Elias Bolt entered the Hall. His adventures and brave endeavures made him a folk hero.

A few years later, the land route became more frequently used by traders. Although encounters with natives were mostly frienldy events, the merchants often had an escort to protect them from the one or two more wild tribes. Small outposts were established to protect the route, that soon growed into small settlements.

Last edited by Urcules; 10-09-2008 at 22:10.
Reason: typo's and tenses

Will you be rediscovering your old masters, or establishing your empire in the new world?

I think that I could re-establish a colony on Greenland, and explore upto Iceland, but I not sure what tax base eriksfjord and Vestribyggd have. From earlier 'mod-testing' games, in which I colonised/conquered most of US/Canada, I had a huge gap between my technology and the newly arrived europeans, in just 70-odd years. And I never got that neighbour bonus...
Luckily I just got the 'scientific revolution' event, which gave me a huge bonus of 10000 in an area.

I also included an mission to colonise neighbouring provinces, and get a core as a reward.

This is a very interesting idea and I shall definately follow your progress. After watching Code Geass, a program that includes a massive Empire in the Americas, I shall be hoping that your nation eventually shall equal its greatness.
I do have some questions though;
* What is the religion of your nation?
* Will you in any way be able to make this mod availadle for download?
Keep up the good work

I am more afraid of a hundred sheep led by a lion than by a hundred lions led by a sheep.

This is a very interesting idea and I shall definately follow your progress. After watching Code Geass, a program that includes a massive Empire in the Americas, I shall be hoping that your nation eventually shall equal its greatness.
I do have some questions though;
* What is the religion of your nation?
* Will you in any way be able to make this mod availadle for download?
Keep up the good work

Must check Code Geass, haven't got a clue what that could be :-)

As the introduction proves, Greenlanders were definately catholic until the disappearance of the colonies. Although valid arguments could be made that Vinland's catholicism may be estranged from the views of the Holy See, there's no real reason to think that the Vinlanders, even after 100-200(?) years of isolation would not have called themselves catholics. (Last contact with catholic Greenland (If Vinland were to exist, of course) was around 1400.

To answer your second question, this mod (add-on for Terra Nova) is already available, be it in a premature version. If people are interested in an updated version I'll be more than happy to squeeze the current add-on into a zip-file, one of these days. I'm still fine-tuning some missions-events as I go along to perfectionize them.

I have an inflation of 10+ at 1430 a.d., and have had an advisor that keeps inflation down for 30years.

I only have 3 regiments, and 4 ships I got from the start, at lowest upkeep I pay less that half a ducat I think.
so that helps. Also, I added bonusses for missions I created to help me a little on the way, like for colonising that land-connection, I needed 5 colonies, but I got cores on them, some trade investment and 150 ducats. Colonising towards manhattan now, they have tax bases of about 4-5 or 6.
I do have to keep the number of colonies at the same time limited, obviously.

The ‘Vinlandsannál’, here depicting the birth of Leif VI
The ‘Vinlandsannál’ was commisioned by Prince-regent Leif VI (1384-1408), who desired to record his battles with the ‘skrælings’ (natives) during his 24-year long regency.
The political scene of Vinland was preserved for nobles. There were only 47 noble families in the entire country, that controlled the majority of the land. Out of the 47 family heads, a leader was chosen every 8 years. Whenever near the end of a term a rival could gather the support of 12 family heads, a ‘sammenkomst’ spread over 5 days would be held to discuss the issues the rival(s) thinks could be improved. At the beginning of the fifth day the rival(s) stated their intentions: they could demand a vote for a new ruler, or step down, satisfied with the debate.
In the case of a popular Prince-regent like Leif VI there was more often than not an official rival that wanted to step down anyway, just to make sure the debate could be held. This way the nobles wanted to keep the ‘primus inter pares’, the Prince, on his toes.

When Leif VI died from an accident at the end of July 1408a.d., the nobles had elected Leif’s right-hand Bernt Sigurdsson as the new Prince-regent for 1 year, after which the traditional sammenkomst would be held. Sigurdsson won the debate unanimously on the sammenkomst of 1409 a.d. against Eilaf Magnusson without a vote. Magnusson stepped down. Eilaf and his brother Hákon were sons of a rich noble of Vinland, Magnus Freknottr ('the freckle') (+1398).
Because of the dire situation Vinland had sometimes been in during its short history, many nobles were not only land proprietor, but often also sent their younger sons out as traders. Marriages with traders or common smaller land proprietors were also very common. Without his knowing, explorer Elias Bolt had started a process no person could have foreseen. The Magnusson brothers were to profit greatly from new contact Bolt made with the Creek skrælings in the coming years.

According to the Vinlandsannál that Sigurdsson ordered to be updated, folk hero Elias Bolt was given the position as head of annual state-trading missions to the Creek skrælings, the first reaching Muskogee in April,1409.

In 1418, after nine voyages, Elias Bolt settled in Vinborg with a state pension. The request to settle down was granted by Prince re-elect Sigurdsson (more on the sammenkomst of 1417 later in chapter 3).
In 1422, Elias was requested to undertake a new voyage, to the east, to Grænland to map the region. Grænland was still used as a hunting ground for walrushunters. Sculptured ivory was traded to the Creek for tobacco and other commodities. There were summerhabitats for the hunters, that had to be rebuilt after every winter.
Þórbrandr Eliasson joined his father on this voyage. He was not much of a sailor, and more of a scolar, but was intrigued by the tales of hunters that had seen boats to the east of Grænland.
The fleet of two ships sailed northeast while maping the coast. The Eastern Grænland Sea was crossed, without finding anything. In late August there was no other choice than head back before winter.
Þórbrandr went back to Vinborg to complete his studies, and was able to convince Sigurdsson to equip another mission to set out the following spring ...

Early March 1423, Elias Bolt and his son Þórbrandr Eliasson set course to to the northern colonies, proceeding to Grænland and the East Grænland Sea. With a few stops along the way, they made a final stop in a protected bay in the south of Grænland. The hunters’ and fishermen’s huts they visited along the coast had a distinct character. They were just temporary and built for one or two men.
Without the task of mapping the Grænland coasts, Bolt was able reach the East Grænland Sea a lot earlier than the preceding year. Within a fortnight of their last stop they spotted foreign fishing boats. The men talked, dressed in a similar way, and were friendly. They directed them to the coasts of Iceland. They went east and entered the Húnaflói bay and landed in the town of Skaagastrønd. The local major welcomed the lost brothers and invited Bolt and Eliasson into his home. He informed them that the governor was in Akureyri for business.
They agreed to travel together. Þórbrandr Eliasson -appointed as Vinland official and diplomat- travelled with the mayor over land. His father would take care of some emergency repairs, and travel along the coast within two days.
The city of Akureyri where they met again was situated deep into the Eyjafjörður, ‘fjord with the island’. Bolt’s 2 ships entered the small harbour of the city.
Both father and son would soon learn about the political changes Norway had undergone. Norway had often been ruled by Danish Kings of the Jarls dynasty after 1000 a.d. According to the last immigrants from Grænland there was even a Swede on the throne not so long ago, although Most Vinlanders didn’t believe much of what those presumed backward Grænlanders said. The governor informed them, to their surprise that their beloved kingdom was ruled by Maximilian I of Pommerania, king of Danmark and Norway.
On the ships there was much debating about this. Sailors that had visited the town had learned from the locals that ‘Maxim Meinfret’ –Maximilian Foul-Fart- was just an insufferable oaf that didn’t care much about Iceland. Maximilian 'Meinfret' I of Pommerania, king of Danmark and Norway

The delegacy of Vinland exchanged a few gifts and staid for a few weeks, but it was clear that the political debate on the ships would be as lively amongst the nobles at home.
In early autumn 1423, the 47 heads were discussing the matter. Most agreed that Vinland was functioning fine on its own, and although they considered themselves Nores, they didn’t want involvement from some German king that would only exploit them. Eilaf Magnusson gathered support with his proposal to live on in splendid isolation, but Sigurdsson, 68 by that time, proposed to keep on the friendly side of the king to encourage trade, economy and knowledge.
Sigurdsson won the debate and Þórbrandr Eliasson was given a raise and was to prepare a diplomatic mission to Iceland the next spring. His task was to create and maintain friendly relations with their brethren on the island, making clear that they were independent people of the Principality of Vinland, without going further to Bergen or Danmark. Direct contact with the king could create too much interest, maybe even the desire claim rights on the principality.

In the meantime, Prince Sigurdsson had restricted colonisation south of the recently colonised landroute. Many traders, and even a few nobles, did send out scouts to explore the region that Bolt had already mapped years before. During the sammenkomst of 1417 this almost cost Sigurdsson his second re-election. The heated debate with eternal rival Eiland Magnusson ended inconclusive and on the fifth and last day Magnusson pushed for a vote. He narrowly lost the vote by 21 votes to 26.
The Magnussons had found an illegal landroute to the lands of the skræling Creek nation. Smuggling wine from their private vineyards and other questionable, homebrewed spirits to Creek brought them wealth by avoiding state tariffs. This enabled them to employ hundreds of commoners to exploit the land between the land route and Creek.
In 1425, loyal nobles that had heard about Magnusson’s dealings exposed them at the new sammenkomst. They all rallied behind 70-year old Sigurdsson and the sammenkomst ended without a vote, due to lack of support for a rival.

In order to bring the Magnusson clan to justice an army was created. Experienced as Sigurdsson was, he ‘leaked’ false information that there would be a direct march from the north, while sending a promising captain away by ships.
Eiland Magnusson stationed his newly hired private army within a two day march of his most northern possessions.
National troops were shipped far outside that coast to the south landing on an island south of Væroy, the largest illegal colony. The few people of Væroy that didn’t surrender had already fled north, informing Magnusson that an entire army had landed on the island of Vigr (‘speardhead island’). He force marched his troops south to meet head on with the army. Sigurdsson had made a good choice for a leader, because captain Mats Aamundson had divided his troops on Vigr to outflank the enemy. Magnusson was caught in the trap and killed along with many of his men in the brutal cavalry charge.

Darker gold regions are the illegal colonies.

Aamundson was appointed general.The children of Magnusson were deprived of the inheritance of any illegal property, but guaranteed of everything the Magnussons owned before 1423, including their place at the sammenkomst.
The illegal colonies were incorporated and landtrade became stateregulated, although traders got to keep a larger share of Creek-trade profits.

no seriously, there were horses on Grænland according to the report from church official Ivar Bårdarson, in the second half of 14th century. And there were contacts with the North American coast as this was where they got their woodsupply. So if I consider the existance of Vinland, I might aswell consider the presence of a few horses, hopefully enough to start a few farms.